Copta gave an elaborate shrug. “My father believed he was helping; my husband-to-be was so socially awkward and hideous that he only wanted anyone who would share a bed willingly.”
“Wait. How can one person take another’s place in the draft register?” Shank leaned forward and rested his forearms on his knees.
“It is a concession to our religion. Our fathers, brothers, or husbands can take our place if they can complete the same work. It prevents my people from protesting the draft.”
“Like that would do any good,” Allie said.
Shank let out a long breath and leaned back again. “The families have avoided the draft by not giving the government any names of individuals for them to draft. I suspect other groups have done the same, just avoided filing birth notices.” Allie glanced over. The pirates had hidden their names until Shank had gone and put his name in at an official government school and gotten drafted. His mother probably questioned his sanity daily for that decision.
“Allowing our men to take the place of women avoided that,” Copta agreed, her voice soft.
“That’s stupid. Women can fight just as well as men. Keeping women at home like they’re helpless is just offensive. I mean, can you see Lieutenant Haslett staying home to play at being inferior to some husband?” Allie snorted.
Copta shrugged. “It is not that my father considered me less or helpless, only that he saw men as being charged with protecting women so they did not have to see the horrors of war. Of course, I have not seen horror as much as overwhelming amounts of paperwork needed to track the thousand different supplies required for the running of a spaceship. But my father would protect me from that, even when I very much do not want to be protected.”
“So all parents are biologically required to be idiots,” Allie summed up.
“Pretty much,” Shank agreed. “Although right now, the only parent we have to worry about is my mother, and she will give us enough reason to worry. So, where is this ship she wants us to steal?”
“Crooks’ Station. She said that a ship called theMonitorhad it towed in and is repairing it right now.”
The groan that followed was not a good sign. Shank closed his eyes tightly and then ran his hand over his face. “Crap.”
“Crap?” Allie asked.
“TheMonitoris a nonfamily ship.”
“Which means?”
Shank sighed. “Which means they are mercenaries and killers who end up attacking more ships than they should. Nonfamily ships are always trying to get more money to make up for the fact that they’re in conflict over how to split what they do have. It means they’re all crazy, and now my mother has basically announced that we can go after an insanely greedy and brutally violent crew, or we can give up and beg her for some corner on theMitakuye Oyasin, her ship.”
“Wait. How can you know that about theMonitor?” Allie shifted on the bed so she could look at Shank. The tips of his ears were pinking up, which usually meant he’d done something magnificently stupid. The last time he’d been this pink, he’d tried defending her honor by threatening Jacqs, a move that had quickly led to her breaking up with him and trying out Petrov Bolson. And yeah, that had been a horrible move on her part, but still. There was guilt shown by those pink ears. “Shank, confess, or I will torture you later,” she warned.
He flashed her a quick grin, but he stared at the end of his left braid. She crossed her arms.
Finally he blurted out, “Nonfamily ships always start pulling apart at the seams. I told you that in the cell.”
“And you have detailed information on theMonitorbecause?” Allie put a little more heat into her tone.
Shank pressed his lips together and remained silent for a long time before he seemed to just wilt. “Fine. I know because there was a woman I was involved with before I was drafted. I introduced her to another ship captain because she was too sane for theMonitor. And my mother knows this. She’s probably targeting that ship because I have history with it. She’s trying to force us to admit we can’t handle stealing one little ship.” He rolled his eyes. “Please. I could steal a ship in my sleep.”
“You slept with someone from theMonitor?” Allie could feel that twinge of hot jealousy again.
“I should not be here,” Copta said quietly.
“No, you’re fine,” Shank hurried to reassure her, and then he gave Allie a desperate expression.
“Hey, you’re one of us. You’re welcome here.” Allie reached out in a gesture meant to encourage Copta to stay, but she got up and took Allie’s hand, holding it tightly.
“We will be fine,” Copta said. She said it firmly enough that she sounded like she was either trying to convince Allie or herself to believe that.
“As long as my mother doesn’t start offering to let us use the air locks to bed down, we’ll be fine,” Shank agreed. “At least physically. Emotionally, I’m pretty sure I’m toast.”
“The woman, she was someone special?” Copta asked.
Allie held her breath. She could feel the embers of jealousy flare into a raging fire. Caj had acted like Shank’s declaration meant something, and she desperately wanted to believe that was true. She didn’t want to think she was the second choice after some woman she’d never met.
“She didn’t mean enough.” Shank looked Allie in the eye. “She wanted something I couldn’t give her.”
